Together We Stand
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: Can you do one where Regina and Emma are happily married and have Henry and a little daughter. Then Regina gets cancer and when she starts losing her hair and has to shave her head her whole family decides to shave their heads. Full prompt inside.


_Can you do one where Regina and Emma are happily married and have Henry and a little daughter. Then Regina gets cancer and when she starts losing her hair and has to shave her head her whole family decides to shave their heads. So Snow, Charming, Emma and Henry. Zelena and Cora. And Rumple and Bae too. And Rumple and Cora are her parents and their together again. And of course Cora has her heart – EvilQueensDaughterRapunzel_

_I don't own Once or any of its characters. Apologies for any mistakes. Hope you like it :) _

Life has been good for a long time. Hearts were returned. Families saved, reunited and grown. It's been five years since they saved Henry from Peter Pan and life is much different, much happier. Cora and Rumple having buried the hatchet are now happily living together. Cora has repaired her relationships with both her daughters and sees them regularly. Snow and Charming have two more children.

For Regina the best big change in her life is Emma. She and Emma have been married for four years now. They have Henry and their little girl Lucy. Her life is a good one now. She no longer lives a life of misery and isolation. Instead she lives a big life full of love, family and joy.

It's been a long time since any of them have faced any danger. Magic is rarely used now. There are no villains coming at them with curses or kidnappings or threats. Life is calm and as Regina has recently learned sometimes a calm can be deceptive. They've all become used to a good happy life which is why the news Regina receives one dreadful Thursday afternoon throws them all for a loop.

Cancer.

With all the magical things she has survived Regina never even considered that something so human could be the thing to destroy her. On the day she's diagnosed she spends the afternoon watching her children and hoping with all her might that she will see them grow. It took so long to find a happy ending and Regina refuses to let anything take it away from her.

It's amazing how easy it is to fall back into battle. This time the threat is not magical but medical. The approach is no different. Regina does her best to try strong and hopes her resolve to survive will help her beat this new threat. Like always she does not fight alone.

The day she tells her family there are tears. So many tears. Fear ripples through the room like an icy wave. Then one by one they look to Regina and vow to be there for her. Her battle is not one to be fought alone. "Together we stand," Emma had once told her and in all the days they've been together Regina has known those words to be true.

Her parents hold onto her tightly for about an hour that day. They both missed so much time with Regina and neither one of them can bear the thought of losing her. "I'm not going anywhere," she says to reassure them. Cora nods though Regina can see the tears in her mother's eyes. "You're not going anywhere," her father repeats looking at his daughter.

The day ends with everyone basically sandwiching Regina into a hug and assuring her that she can and will beat this disease. Regina feels buoyed by their words and she hopes they come true. She wonders if the weight of wishes can crush a disease like cancer. She hopes they can. When they all leave Emma holds her through the night and vows to stand by her side through everything.

She always has and always will.

* * *

On the day of her first appointment Regina can't help but be nervous. She's heard stories about chemo so she has some idea what to expect though she knows the reality will be worse. As they walk into the hospital Emma squeezes her wife's hand and Regina smiles. Emma's touch has always done an incredible job of calming her fears. With Emma by her side she can face anything. The nurse directs them to the room with a small smile that Regina doesn't understand.

Then she and Emma walk into the room. Inside is her entire family. Snow, Charming and their kids are on one side. Beside them Bae is with Henry and Lucy and then her mother, father and Zelena on the other side.

Regina's eyes fill with tears as she looks around at her gathered family, "What's going on?" she asks.

"Did you really think we'd let you fight this alone?" Snow asks as she holds her younger son in her arms.

"We're going to be here every step of the way," Charming adds and everyone in the room nods.

"You all came," Regina says in quiet amazement.

"Of course we did," Zelena replies, "I know it's been a long road to get here and that there has been so much pain in the past but you're my sister and we're all family. Family turns up for each other."

Cora and Rumple nod proudly as they look over the three children they're proud to call theirs.

"Thank you all so much," Regina says awestruck by this display of support. She knew they would all try and support her but she never expected this. It astonishes her how far they've all come but more importantly seeing them all here buoys her strength and reminds just why she needs to fight with all her might to beat this illness.

It's a hard battle and a rough first day but it's not as horrifying as she anticipated. There are jokes shared and stories told. They all watch crappy movies and sitcoms on the hospital's ancient TV. In the rough moments when Regina throws up her mother and Emma are by her side to soothe her and help her through. The fight is long and arduous and certainly not over any time soon but she is not alone and that is enough to help her remain strong.

* * *

A day comes not long after when Regina wakes up to find her own hair shedding over her pillow. The sight of that dark curl hammers home her reality and a sob bubbles out of her throat. This is the marker for everyone that she is sick. They will look at her and see her not as Regina nor a strong Mayor but as someone sick. Tears slide down her face as she runs into the bathroom. She spends hours holed up in their simply staring at her own reflection.

Of all the things at stake in the upcoming few months she knows this will not be her biggest hurdle. However it is the first one that makes her feel truly alone. Without her hair she will look sick and she won't be able to pretend that she can beat this with ease. Some days she has been able to do that. Seeing herself bald however will remind her of what's ahead, of the happy ending she might be pulled away from and how she oh so desperately wishes she weren't sick.

Emma frowns as Regina remains locked in the bathroom. At first she had worried that Regina was ill from a side effect of chemo but then she saw the hair on their pillow and she understood. She spends her hours trying to think of a way to cheer Regina up. Sometimes the best way to help someone fight is to remind them that no matter how dire the situation that they can smile and be supported. After a while an idea pops into her head and she smiles. She grabs Henry and tells him to ring the rest of the family.

When all is in place she barges her way into the bathroom. Regina jumps before seeing Emma. She holds out a hand full of hair and sobs. Emma rushes forward wrapping her arms around Regina. She lets her wife cry for a few moments until she calms. "Come with me," she whispers.

"Emma I don't want to go anywhere. Once this is gone all anyone will ever see me as is someone sick."

"That's where you're wrong," Emma says before pulling Regina down the stairs to reveal their entire family downstairs.

"What is this Emma?"

Emma doesn't answer in words. Instead she walks over to her mother and nods. Snow plugs in a shaver before running the device over her daughter's curls. It's not the first haircut she envisioned giving her daughter all those years ago in the Enchanted Forest but this one holds significance all on its own.

Regina gasps before looking stunned at her wife, "Emma what are you doing?"

Again there's no answer. Once Emma is shorn bald she moves to Lucy who insisted on being second. The little girl giggles when she sees her hair fall to the floor. "Just like you Mama," she says proudly before pointing to Henry, "Big brother next."

As Emma shaves Henry's, Rumple takes the second shaver before cutting off his own hair. When Emma called he and Cora didn't hesitate to agree and come over. They all meant it when they told Regina they'd be there every step of the way. They may not be the ones sick but as her parents, he and Cora live with dread and the terror of heartbreaking loss. Neither of them wants to lose a child, not again. Watching Regina suffer is torture for them because all they can do to help is watch and offer hugs or distraction. They cannot fight this battle for her but they can and will do anything they can to make it even a little bit easier for her. Once he's finished he shaves Cora's who watches the hair fall before looking up to see her daughter watching them all with a small but still slightly confused smile.

Zelena offer her hair up next. Her sister and I may have fought battles against each other in the past but this time she's on Regina's side. Over the past few years she has learned what having a loving family is and she really doesn't want to lose that. Regina gave her a second chance and Zelena will never stop thanking her for that. The least she can do in her eyes is to be here now and be the big sister she could have always been.

Once she's done David shaves Snow and their two boys before cutting off all of his hair too. Over the past five years they've accepted Regina as one of their family and so had no qualms about doing this for her. They don't know if it will help. All they know is they have to try.

Neal cuts his hair off quickly. He is the big brother. Ever since he and Regina found out they were siblings he has tried to be the one to cheer her up and help her out when he can. The same is true now.

Emma turns to Regina to find her looking at her curiously, "What people will think when they see you is that you're one of us. So you gonna join us?" she asks holding out the shaver. Regina nods before she kisses Emma gratefully, "I love you," she says before turning to the rest of her family, "All of you. Thank you so much for doing this."

The smile on her face is worth losing their hair for all of them.

Emma shaves her head before kissing it. She lifts Regina up and kisses her, "Beautiful always."

Regina smiles, "You too dear."

"Mommy. We all match!" Lucy says bouncing with an excited grin at the fact that they all have the same bald heads.

Regina smiles. "Yes we do."

"Together we stand," Emma whispers in her ear as Regina hugs their little girl. Her wife grins before looking at her assembled family. She has a long fight ahead but it's one she's more than prepared for. With her family surrounding her she can face anything.

_Thanks for reading :) _


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